ND symposium looks at changing face of war

January 30, 2009|Tribune Staff Report

SOUTH BEND -- Martin van Creveld, a military historian and strategist from Israel, and John Robb, a former U.S. special operations officer and expert on the future of war, are the lead speakers for "Of War & Law," a symposium and film festival Feb. 12 to 14 at the University of Notre Dame. All events are free and open to the public. Speakers will focus on the dramatic changes in warfare during the past 60 years and the resulting challenges to international humanitarian law. The symposium will begin at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 12 with van Creveld's lecture, "The Culture of War," in the Hesburgh Center auditorium. A panel discussion will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, followed by a book signing and film. Events on Feb. 13 will begin at 12:30 p.m. with Robb's lecture, "The Economics of Contemporary Armed Conflict," in the Hesburgh Center auditorium. A panel discussion will be held at 4 p.m. in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, followed by a book signing and two films. Two more films will be presented Feb. 14. Van Creveld has been on the faculty of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem since 1971. He is the author of 19 books, including "Supplying War," "Command in War," "The Transformation of War," "The Rise and Decline of the State," "The Changing Face of War: Lessons of Combat from Marne to Iraq," and "The Culture of War." Robb is a high-tech entrepreneur and the author of "Brave New War," a book on the Iraqi insurgency, global guerrillas and open-source warfare. Other speakers and moderators will include Cécile Aptel, a longtime staff member of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia; David Cortright, a research fellow at the Kroc Institute; Frédéric Mégret, the director of the McGill Clinic for the Special Court of Sierra Leone; Mary Ellen O'Connell, a Notre Dame law professor and a fellow of the Kroc Institute; and Jamie Williamson of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Details are available on the Web at: kroc.nd.edu/newsevents/events/upcoming. The films to be shown are: "Henry Dunant: Red on the Cross," 9:30 p.m. Feb. 12; "Breaker Morant," 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13; "Casualties of War," 9:30 p.m. Feb. 13; "Afghan Breakdown," 6:30 p.m. Feb. 14; "Welcome to Sarajevo," 9:30 p.m. Feb. 14. The films are free but require tickets. For more information on the films, see: http://performingarts.nd.edu. Call (574) 631-2800 to reserve tickets.